Spooky Family Food and Baking for Halloween: Spiders, Owls and Mashed Spuds with a Twist!
Spooky Family Food and Baking Recipes for Halloween:
Spiders, Owls and Mashed Spuds with a Twist!
Pumpkin Cat
Today should be Sepia Saturday, where I share a Be-Ro recipe from one of my many old (and new) Be-Ro cookbooks, but, as Halloween is next week, I have decided to share some seasonal recipes with you……and, I am making some more spooky fare over the weekend, so look out for some simple family supper recipes as well as ghoulish baked treats early next week – both savoury and sweet. Today it’s all about fun cakes and an old Halloween supper recipe, with a tale attached – Traditional All Hallows’ Eve Supper ~ Mash O’ Nine Sorts, Spooky Spider Cakes for a Howling Halloween and Twit Woo Hooting Halloween Owl Cupcakes. I posted these recipes last year, but as I am blogging a new platform now (WordPress and not Blogger), I have updated the recipes to a printable version, which I am sharing today…..although, you can read the original posts by clicking on the links above.
Traditional All Hallows’ Eve Supper ~ Mash O’ Nine Sorts
My first recipe is Traditional All Hallows’ Eve Supper ~ Mash O’ Nine Sorts – This is such a wonderful and traditional English recipe for Hallowe’en – All Hallow’s Eve. It was a dish traditionally served to unmarried guests with the added intrigue of a ring hidden inside. Whoever found the ring would be the next one to be married. This delicious mashed potato has nine ingredients in it ~ hence its name. Serve it as a supper dish by itself, or as an accompaniment to bangers/sausages for a comforting Autumn supper dish. For those whom may be interested, a brief history on the origins of Hallowe’en: In ancient Britain this date was the pre-Christian eve of the New Year and Celtic Harvest Festival, when the souls of the dead were thought to revisit their homes to eat and drink. People left refreshments on the table and unlocked their doors before retiring for the night, then bells were rung, fires lit to guide the returning souls back to earth and animals were brought in for the winter.
Traditional All Hallows’ Eve Supper ~ Mash O’ Nine Sorts
Traditional Halloween Supper: Mash O’ Nine Sorts
Print recipe
| Serves | 4 |
| Prep time | 15 minutes |
| Cook time | 45 minutes |
| Total time | 1 hour |
| Dietary | Vegetarian |
| Meal type | Lunch, Main Dish, Side Dish |
| Misc | Child Friendly, Serve Hot |
| Occasion | Halloween |
| Region | British |
| By author | Karen S Burns-Booth |
Ingredients
- 2 lbs (900g) potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 small turnips, peeled and diced
- 1 large parsnips, peeled and diced
- 2 leeks, cleaned and chopped into thin slices, including some of the green tops
- 8 ounces (225g) mature farmhouse Cheddar cheese, grated
- salt and freshly grated black pepper
- 2 tablespoons single cream
Note
This is such a wonderful and traditional English recipe for Hallowe'en - All Hallow's Eve. It was a dish traditionally served to unmarried guests with the added intrigue of a ring hidden inside. Whoever found the ring would be the next one to be married. This delicious mashed potato has nine ingredients in it ~ hence its name. Serve it as a supper dish by itself, or as an accompaniment to bangers/sausages for a comforting Autumn supper dish.
Directions
| Step 1 | Pre-heat oven to 350ºF/180ºC. Boil the potatoes, carrots, turnip and parsnip together until soft. Mash them thoroughly with a potato masher or hand held immersion blender, and then season with salt and pepper to taste. Meanwhile, gently poach the leeks in a little water until they just lose their crispness, for about 5 minutes. |
| Step 2 | Add the poached leeks to the potato, carrot, turnip and parsnips, and mix in the cream. Season well to taste, and then stir in the grated cheese, reserving some for the top; don't forget to add the ring before you transfer the entire mixture into a greased oven-proof dish. (If you want to make this in the full traditional manner!). |
| Step 3 | Scatter the reserved cheese on top and bake until golden-brown, about 30 to 45 minutes. Serve piping hot with sausages/bangers or with salad. |
| Step 4 | P.S. Warn your guests about the ring! |
Next up is one of my very popular Spooky Cakes recipes…..Spooky Spider Cakes for a Howling Halloween; I LOVE these cakes, they make me smile, and I often make them for a fun dessert for big kids too……The cake mixture is a double chocolate cake mixture – with cocoa and chocolate pieces, topped off with a chocolate butter cream. The decorations are made using Liquorice All sorts and liquorice strings/laces or Catherine wheels as we call them in Great Britain. They are easy to make and can be frozen before you decorate them……..
Spooky Spider Cakes for a Howling Halloween
Spooky Spider Cakes for Halloween
| Serves | 12 cakes |
| Prep time | 30 minutes |
| Cook time | 25 minutes |
| Total time | 55 minutes |
| Allergy | Egg, Milk, Wheat |
| Dietary | Vegetarian |
| Meal type | Dessert, Snack |
| Misc | Child Friendly, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold |
| Occasion | Birthday Party, Casual Party, Halloween |
| Region | British |
| By author | Karen S Burns-Booth |
Ingredients
Spider Cakes
- 200g butter, softened and room temperature
- 200g golden caster sugar
- 200g self raising flour
- 50g cocoa, NOT drinking chocolate
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 -4 tablespoons milk
- 100g chocolate chips, or 4 ounces chopped chocolate
- paper cupcake liners, cases preferably brown
Butter cream Icing & Decoration
- 100g softened butter
- 100g icing sugar
- 25g cocoa
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 -2 tablespoon milk
- liquorice allsorts, sweets (Liquorice Catherine wheels, shoe strings, boot laces etc for the legs.) or candies, for the eyes and the mouth (Liquorice Catherine wheels, shoe strings, boot laces etc for the legs.)
Note
I JUST love these little spider cakes, every time I make them, their faces make me laugh ~ well, I am easily pleased! Furthermore, they are delicious ~ they taste much better than NORMAL spiders I find, as normal spider’s legs are a little too chewy…….. (This recipe was originally published in Good Food Magazine ~ I tweaked it slightly!)
Directions
| Step 1 | Pre-heat the oven to 180C/360°F. |
| Step 2 | This is a VERY easy all in one mix; simply put the softened butter into a large mixing bowl with the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, beaten eggs and vanilla extract. Mix on slow with a hand mixer, incorporating all the dry ingredients gradually into the butter and eggs. Increase the speed to medium and then to high. Stop and add the milk, tablespoon-by-tablespoon, whisking in between each spoon until you have a smooth, silky mixture with no lumps. Add the chocolate chips or chocolate pieces and mix well. |
| Step 3 | Spoon the mixture into well-greased muffin tins, or tins lined with muffin cases – I do not use cases as a rule. |
| Step 4 | Bake in the pre-heated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until well risen – check with a wooden cocktail stick by pushing it in the middle of the cake, if it comes out clean, the cakes are ready. |
| Step 5 | Leave to cool for 5 minutes and then gently run a knife around the sides to release the cakes – or take the cakes out if they are in muffin cases. Put them on a wire rack and allow to cool completely before decorating. |
| Step 6 | Whilst the cakes are cooling, make the butter cream icing. Put the softened butter and icing sugar into a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly by hand with a fork. Add the vanilla extract and mix again before adding the cocoa powder – mix all the ingredients together and then add the milk if you need to loosen the mixture for spreading. The butter cream icing should be soft and silky – but should still hold its shape. |
| Step 7 |
 When you are ready to decorate the spider cakes, cut the liquorice Catherine wheels into “legs” that just dangle over the edge of the cake – mine were about 2″ in length. Take the liquorice allsorts sweets/candy that have a white inside and a liquorice exterior – see photos – gently make a hole in the centre with a cocktail stick and push in a small sliver of liquorice to make the eyes. Choose a red or orange liquorice allsorts sweet/candy, which is layered – see photo – and cut each sweet/candy into 4 pieces for the mouth. |
| Step 8 |
 Gently push the legs into the top of the cake at intervals – the icing will go over the top to keep them in place later, so do not worry how they look! You need 8 legs per spider – of course! Spoon on some chocolate butter cream icing to cover the legs and come within 1/2″ of the edge – make it look “hairy” by stippling with a fork. Then place two eyes in the top, finishing off with a mouth! Continue to decorate all the cakes in this way, place them all on a plate with some extra sweets/candy scattered around them, and watch the looks of delight on the children’s faces when they see them! |
And finally for my Ghoulish Trio, my Twit Woo Hooting Halloween Owl Cupcakes! These Owl Cakes are GREAT fun…..just bake some chocolate fairy cakes, muffins or cupcakes, decorate them and then turn them into Hooting Halloween Owls, just like that ~ it’s magic. The recipe is based on our British fairy cake or butterfly cake recipe, where the top of the baked cake or muffin is cut off to create the “wings”.
Twit Woo Hooting Halloween Owl Cupcakes
Twit Woo Hooting Halloween Owl Cupcakes
| Serves | Makes 12 muffin size cakes and 24 smaller fairy cake size cakes |
| Prep time | 30 minutes |
| Cook time | 25 minutes |
| Total time | 55 minutes |
| Allergy | Egg, Fish, Wheat |
| Dietary | Vegetarian |
| Meal type | Dessert, Snack |
| Misc | Child Friendly, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold |
| Occasion | Birthday Party, Casual Party, Halloween |
| Region | British |
| By author | Karen S Burns-Booth |
Ingredients
CAKES
- 300g butter, softened
- 300g golden caster sugar
- 225g self-raising flour
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 6 medium eggs
FOR ICING AND DECORATION
- 200g butter, softened
- 300g icing sugar, sifted
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- liquorice all sorts, sweets or candies
Note
These are GREAT fun…..just bake some chocolate fairy cakes, muffins or cupcakes, decorate them and then turn them into Hooting Halloween Owls, just like that ~ it’s magic. I made these last year for a children’s Halloween party, and they all loved them. The recipe is based on our British fairy cake or angel cake recipe, where the top of the baked cake or muffin is cut off to create the “wings”. This wonderful recipe idea is one that I have adapted slightly from Tana Ramsay, the wife of the famous Gordon Ramsay…..she has some great family recipes, of which this is one.
Directions
| Step 1 | Heat oven to 190C/380F/gas 5. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with brown muffin cases. Beat the first 5 ingredients to a smooth batter and spoon between the cases, almost filling them to the top. You may have a little left over. (Alternatively, use a fairy cake or cup cake tin for smaller ones – again, try to find some brown paper cases. You should be able to make 24 “owls” if you make them in the smaller cake tin.) Bake for 20-25 minutes until risen and spongy. Cool on a rack. |
| Step 2 | Decorating the Owls: Beat the butter and icing sugar until smooth, and then add the cocoa powder, mixing well. Slice off the very tops of the cakes and cut each piece in to half. Spread a generous layer of icing over each cake. |
| Step 3 | Working on one cake at a time, take a pair of the large round liquorice all sorts sweets that are yellow or pink with black centres, see photos. Sit the eyes on top of the cake; then add the two pieces of cake cut from the top (curved edge up) behind the eyes but slightly slanted towards the eyes – to make the eyebrows or owl’s ears. Finish by adding a piece of orange or pink sweet, in between the eyes to the front, for the beak. |
| Step 4 | Watch the owls “fly” off the table when the children see them! |
I hope you enjoy these three recipes today, and do let me know if you make them, and if the children helped you…….I will be back later with some lovely new autumn recipes, as well as some new Halloween recipe ideas too, and I will also be starting to share some fabulous Christmas Gift ideas with you over the next few weeks…….I have been VERY busy in the kitchen and the craft room! Have a great Saturday, and keep warm! Karen
Betty’s Halloween Treats
What are you planning to bake for Halloween? Sweet or Savoury?
Katharine says
Gorgeous trio of traditional Halloween treats! I love the mash, especially with the story behind it, so interesting. And the two sweet treats are fantastic although I don’t think I could bring myself to eat the little owls, their faces are so cute!
Karen says
Thanks Katharine, the owls are sweet aren’t they? They make my laugh, and I still make them even if its just for adults! Karen
Rachel K says
The spiders made me shudder and the owls are an absolute hoot 🙂
I am looking forward to your Be=Ro series – I recently discovered that my father still had one of my late mother’s Be-Ro booklets – I am not sure when it was from as it has lost its cover but I am guessing late 60s or early 70s. It brought back so many memories – it was my early reading material! I always wanted my mother to make the iced animal biscuits, although she never did!
Karen says
Yes! Snap! I asked mum to make the iced animal biscuits loads of times, but she never did. I have posted 5 or 6 Be-Ro recipes already in my sepia Saturday series….love turning to my old books once a week and trying something new, so maybe I will make those animal biscuits for both of us! Karen
Sylvie (A Pot of Tea) says
Happy Halloween, Karen. Love the mash, maybe I’ll find a ring one day! 😉
Karen says
Thanks Sylvie! Maybe you will one day! 🙂
Jo says
Great looking spider cakes Karen! Do you deliver? 🙂
Karen says
If I dust off my broomstick, I may just make it to your place before tomorrow night! Thanks Jo! Karen
Michelle says
Brilliant. Love what you said about the spiders. We’ve got some enormous spiders prowling our house at the moment. Maybe if I make these and leave them in place of the conkers they’ll scare the horrible things off! Spiders are NOT scared of conkers. Really. They walk over them, sit on them and even build webs around them. I’ve tried the conkers – now it’s time to try cakes! 😉
Karen says
Thanks Michelle, I am glad that you like the spiders! Omg! Giant spiders climbing over cookers and building webs over them, what size are they? Karen
Dominic says
love the multi-mash or monster mash!… what a brilliant idea x
Karen says
Great name, monster mash! Lol! Karen
Vanesther - Bangers & Mash says
Fantastic Halloween recipes – and as you know I’m a big fan of mashed potato, so I’ve got to try this one out on my kids! 😉
Karen says
Thanks Vanesther, it’s a great way to sneak in some extra veg too! Karen
Shelley Jessup says
Shared this one
Lisa Williams says
These are so cute I am tweeting 🙂
Maya Russell says
Shared on Twitter as @maisietoo – https://twitter.com/maisietoo/status/310737271072641025
Elizabeth says
I love these recipes, especially the nine ingredient mash – that sounds HEAVENLY! I love the story of the ring inside too, absolutely superb! Thank you for sharing this post with me on FB 🙂